The missing sense of urgency in the Springfield public schools has been restored now that the Finance Control Board has seized from the city's rubber-stamp School Committee the authority to negotiate another contract with Superintendent of Schools Joseph Burke or any other candidate this summer.
After a distressing seven-year tenure in which the dropout rate has grown, Burke's contract with the city will end in June.
Granted, he's tried to repair what years of neglect damaged and has been working under shifting political priorities imposed by the state. But he also hired a cadre of deputies that costs taxpayers about $1 million annually, and one can't see how that money has improved education for students. He re-segregated the schools by going back to the neighborhood school model, which sounds charming but set restrictions on which schools students can attend.
In between, his frequent searches for jobs back in Florida and even his recent ill-fated attempt at winning an appointment as the Massachusetts Education Commissioner—and then stating that he hoped to get a new three-year contract with Springfield—further fueled the perception that this school superintendent wants work in another district ASAP.
When the city's Finance Control Board voted 5-0 to look for another superintendent last month, it signaled the beginning of a new era for schools. But afterwards, in a move that appears to be a violation of the Open Meeting Law, certain School Committee members sent a letter to Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Tim Murray urging them to nullify the Control Board's vote.
"The majority members of the school committee feel very strongly that Dr. Joseph Burke's tenure has been a strong and progressive one despite the hardships and uncertainties that the city has faced during his years here," reads the letter, written on Springfield Public Schools stationery, lacking a date and signed by a newly-elected member, Christopher Collins, who hadn't even been sworn in yet. "It is imperative that our voice be heard on behalf of the 27,000 students who comprise our district."
The letter has a disingenuous ring given the committee's frustrating track record for going along with out-of-step policies rather than seeking new answers to old problems.
Two committee members didn't sign the letter: Marjorie Hurst, based on her own decision, and Antoinette Pepe, because she wasn't shown the letter—not that she would have signed it anyway. Because just about every panel member has a relative employed in the school system, Pepe advocates that they all recuse themselves from having a say in the hiring of the next superintendent.
Pepe is the lightning rod on the panel, the one whom other members seek to cast as irrelevant. She points out deficiencies in policies and advocates accountability. Her colleagues roll their eyes and hold meetings without her, and then say they are the voice of 27,000 students, most of them people of color who believe the system's decision-makers are irrelevant to their lives.
Mark Twain once said that common sense wasn't common, and that is a smart observation that applies to the city's schools. Teachers must follow preconceived plans in manuals contained in three-ring notebooks. One is reminded of a three-ring circus and the Flying Wallendas without a net.
Some school officials play with statistics as if they were toys instead of grave matters of concern. There is no glory in announcing that some student test scores have gone up when the real context is that half of the students drop out of school. It's like saying that Burke's performance has been "nothing short of remarkable," as did the letter sent to Patrick and Murray.
What would be remarkable is if the schools were experiencing a turnaround, if the cafeteria bread weren't green with mold, and exceptional teachers and administrators could do their jobs. That is what Pepe fights for forcefully.
"It's not about me, it's not about Burke," she said. "It's about the kids. We need a superintendent who is committed." ?
Natalia Muñoz is editor of La Prensa of Western Massachusetts (www.LaPrensaMa.com).
